The Final Quell
by WriteOrLeft
Summary: What if the 75th Hunger Games didn't have the Victors re-enter the arena? What if the twist for the Third Quarter Quell was even worse? Watch Katniss and Peeta as they mentor for the first time. Their lives might be spared, but is the alternative any better? AU. Multiple pairings. Multiple POVs.
1. Prologue

**A/N:**** My take on a different version of the Quarter Quell that wouldn't have Katniss and Peeta back in the arena. This is just a short snippet. I might continue this if there's enough interest... let's say after about 3 reviews? Lemme know if you'd like me to continue! Thanks for reading!**

**Disclaimer:****I own nothing from The Hunger Games universe. All characters belong to Suzanne Collins. The bold and italic dialogue at the beginning are taken directly from ****_Catching Fire, _****and was written by Suzanne Collins. I do not own the bold and italic dialogue. All credit is to Suzanne Collins.**

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**_"And_****_now we honor our third Quarter Quell," says the president. The little boy in white steps forward, holding out the box as he opens the lid. We can see the tidy, upright rows of yellowed envelopes. Whoever devised the Quarter Quell system had prepared for centuries of Hunger Games. The president removes an envelope clearly marked with a 75. He runs his finger under the flap and pulls out a small square of paper. Without hesitation, he reads, "On the seventy-fifth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that_** every member of society- regardless of their age- was to blame during the Dark Days, the age restrictions for the pool of names to be reaped have been altered. The pool of names this year, in commemoration of our repentance of the horrific acts that occurred during the Dark Days, and as a reminder that they must never be repeated, will include all citizens aged seven years to thirteen years. I will see you all in a few months. Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favour." Snow finished without the slightest trace of a smile on his ugly snake-like face. The TV switched off.

At first, I thought I must have misheard him. Surely, there was no way such young children could be thrown into the Hunger Games. Vicious and cold-hearted as he is, surely Snow would never allow such a thing.

But when I heard my mother release a strangled sob and saw Prim double over and vomit up her breakfast, I knew that I was only kidding myself. This was really happening.

Suddenly, the room around me started spinning. I lost my balance and I felt as though I was floating. Then the lamp looked like it was flying straight at me. Colors started blending into each other and the next second all I saw was black.


	2. The Little Kids

**A/N:**** Yay chapter 1 is officially here. Thanks for those who reviewed! I only tweaked a small detail from the prologue... The pool of kids being reaped is 7-13 instead of 6-12. I figure it makes more sense this way. **

**So I'm going to be working with multiple POV's with this story, similar to how I write most of my stories (I write mostly for the Sherlock fandom so if you're a fellow Sherlockian, be sure to check out my stories!) First up is Posy, Gale's sister.**

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**Disclaimer:**** I own nothing from The Hunger Games series, all credit is due to Suzanne Collins.**

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**Posy**

Momma told me and Vick we had to be quiet because President Snow was going to say something important. I was sitting on the carpet in front of the TV, playing with my doll and Vick was beside me. Momma was doing some mending at the kitchen table, and Gale and Rory were all sitting on the couch. I never pay much attention whenever President Snow's on the TV because he scares me a lot. But I didn't talk! No I didn't, 'cause Momma told me not to. I just sat there with my doll. Then I saw that my doll had some stuffing coming out of it, so I got up to tell Momma to fix it. She can fix anything. One time, my pants-well really, they were Vick's pants but I used them too- my pants ripped all the way to the bottom 'cause I got stuck to a sharp nail on the side of our house. I ran really hard to get away from it, strong and fast, just like Gale taught me. But then I heard a loud rip!

And it turneded out that I ripped my pants real bad. But Momma still fixed 'em! Cause she can fix anything. So I knew she could fix my doll too. I walked to her and was about to give it to her, but then her face got all weird and she screamed louder than Vick did that time Rory threw our ball over the fence. Gale got it back, but still. I never saw Momma scream before. I didn't know what happened, but I knew it was bad. I turned around and saw that Gale looked really green- like he was gonna be sick. Rory looked quiet- and he's never quiet. And Vick looked really worried!

I got real scared because no one would tell me what was going on.

"Momma? What happened? Why are you crying?"

But she just kept shaking her head and saying, "No, No, No!"

I walked over to Gale and tugged on his big hand. "Gale? Gale, what's happening? Why's Momma crying, Gale? What's wrong? Gale!"

Gale just picked me up and pulled me into a hug. I was trapped against his chest, but I didn't mind. He smelled really good. I moved a little so my ear was against his heart and I counted the times I heard it go "bump". 1...2...3...4... And then I felt him shake. And then I felt something wet on my back. I wiggled out of his arms to look at his face.

Gale had tears in his eyes!

Gale never cries, he's Gale! He's strong, he's big. He's not supposed to cry.

But then, I started crying too.

"Gale, don't cry. Don't cry, Gale, stop it!"

I tried wiping his tears away. The prickly hair on his face tickled my hands but it didn't matter. Gale was crying, I had to help him!

"It's ok Pose. I'm ok. You're ok." He suddenly looked up at everyone else. "We're all going to be ok." Gale stopped crying, that's for sure. But now his face looked really scary. Gale's my brother, I know him. I know he helps Momma 'cause he always brings us food and stuff. I know he's really brave. I know he can sing really good too, even though he doesn't think so. I know he can make me feel better whenever I'm crying. But I didn't know what he looked like now. His face didn't look like the Gale I know. He didn't look like my Gale, like my big brother. He looked... mean. Gale swallowed and I saw the bump on his neck go up and down. Then he swatted the tears on his face away. "We're all going to be ok." Then he put be back down on the sofa next to Rory, and ran across the room. He big steps made our little house shake, and then we all heard the door slam shut.

I looked up at Rory, who was still so, so quiet. He just kept staring at something in front of him. I tried to see what he was staring at but there was nothing. I looked at Vick who was now in Momma's lap. Momma wiped her tears, scooped up Vick and came to sit next to me. I climbed up into her arms too. Vick is really small and so am I. But Momma's arms always have room for both of us.

"Momma?"

"Shh.. baby. Let's just be quiet for a minute, hmm?" she said.

"Ok." I said.

Rory scooted over closer to Momma and snuggled with us. I buried my head closer to Momma's chest. We all sat there, squished together for a while. I counted Momma's breaths. The house was so quiet, I could hear our clock ticking away on the wall.

After a little bit, I said, "Momma?"

"Yes, baby?"

"I think its been a minute."

She sighed. "You're right, baby. It has been a minute."

"So we can talk now?"

"We can talk now." she took me and turned me a bit so I was facing her.

Rory reached out and put his arm on Momma's shoulder. "Ma, we don't have to tell her. She's not seven yet, she doesn't need to know."

Momma was about to say something, but Rory made me mad. I put my arms on my hips and turned to him. "Rory Hawthorne! I'm big enough. I wanna know what's happening. I've been quiet and I listened, just like Momma told me to. If I'm big enough to wear Vick's clothes, than I'm big enough to hear what the big fuss is all about."

Rory just rolled his eyes in his Rory way and huffed. "Fine. You tell her, Ma."

Momma took mine and Vick's hands in hers. She took a deep breath and said, "Posy, I'm going to tell you. You might not understand-"

"I will Momma! I'm big, I can understand!"

She smiled. "I know baby, just listen. Maybe you might not understand, but that's ok. You'll understand soon enough. What I'm about to tell you might make you sad, and that's ok, I'm right here, and you're going to be safe. Got it?"

I nodded and I could feel my ponytail bouncing up and down. "Got it, Momma."

"Good." Then she turned to Vick. "Vick, sweetie?"

Vick was still crying quietly. I know he understood what was happening. I wanted to know too, but I knew I had to let Momma help Vick first. She raised his chin up with her hand. "Look at me, sweetie. Don't cry." she wiped his tears.

"I-I'm s-sorry. I-I'm f-fine. I-I'll st-stop c-crying." Vick said.

"It's ok to be sad, hun. I'm sad too."

Vick nodded, and cried a little less.

Now Momma turned to me. "Ok, Pose, I'm gonna tell you now. You're strong, I know you are. And you're safe, baby, no matter what, you're safe, understand?"

I nodded.

Momma took another deep breath and said, "Remember how Katniss was on TV a while ago? In the Hunger Games?"

I smiled. Of course I remembered. That was when Katniss got to wear all those pretty dresses and looked just like a princess. "I remember Momma!"

Momma took a deep breath. "Well, there's gonna be another Hunger Games this year."

I was confused. "I know that Momma, there's always a Hunger Games, isn't there? Like every month?"

Momma smiled, but it wasn't her happy smile. "Every year, sweetie."

"So what's so bad about that? Why'd you cry if you already know its gonna happen?" I didn't understand.

"It's bad because this year, the Hunger Games are going to be a little different. Instead of the big kids going, its.." Momma stopped.

"What, Momma? It's what?"

"It's gonna be little kids that are going to have to go."

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**A/N:**

**I'm sorry I just love the Hawthornes ok. We're going to be seeing a lot of them. I know I'm starting off with really short chapters, it's cause I don't have a lot of time to write yet. We'll hear from Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch next chapter.**

**Not sure when I'll get to update, so please be patient.**

**In the meantime, let me know how I did in the reviews!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**-WriteOrLeft :)**


	3. We Have To Do Something

**A/N:**** Alright chapter 3 here we go. This picks up after chapter 1.**

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**Disclaimer:**** I own nothing from The Hunger Games series, all credit is due to Suzanne Collins.**

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**Katniss**

When I awake, it takes me a while to get my bearings and figure out where I am. My hands feel the softness of my bed sheets. Above me, I see the familiar light fixture above my bed. To my left I see my dressing table, and to my right is Prim sitting on a chair beside the bed.

She has her head in her arms and at the sound of my movement she looks up at me. Her eyes are puffy and red, like she's been crying… Why is she crying?

"Prim?" my voice croaks out. It hurts to speak.

"Katniss!" She jumps from the chair and rushes towards me. "You're awake!"

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Prim shakes her head as tears well up in her blue eyes. "You don't remember? The- the Quell. Right after President Snow announced the twist… you passed out."

I quickly sit up when a wave of realization washes over me as everything that happened comes back to me.

The announcement.

Snow.

The twist.

"_No." _I choke, shaking my head. _It's all my fault. It's all my fault. This is all my fault. Everything is my fault. Little kids are being sent in because of me. Little kids will die because of me._

"Katniss?" Prim asks, worried. "Are you okay? You look a little green!"

I can't find any words, I just keep shaking my head, when suddenly my body acts without my consent and I double over and—

"Oh no…" Prim says, quickly running to the bathroom.

I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand and collapse back onto my pillow. Prim returns with a towel and begins cleaning me up.

"Sorry." I mumble, taking out my braid and rebraiding it, trying to fix myself up at least a bit.

"It's okay." Prim replies, swiftly removing the sheets and my shirt. "Go take a shower." She pulls me out of the bed and ushers me towards the bathroom.

Right before I get in the bathroom, Prim calls out. "Katniss?"

"Hmm?"

"Um." She hesitates. "Actually, never mind. Go get cleaned up, it'll help you feel better. We'll deal with… everything…later. No use in getting upset now, is there?" She says solemnly, and I am again hit by how mature my baby sister has become in recent months.

"Yeah." I say. "Wait, how long was I out for?"

"Just a few hours, gladly. Peeta came by. So did Gale, but Mom sent him home."

"Okay." I nod, and shut the door. I quickly strip down and turn the water on to the hottest temperature I can take. I don't know how long I stay under the water, but it does little to calm my mind or my body.

There are two scenarios that would explain the twist for this year's games.

One is that the twist was actually written all those years ago and had been pre-planned.

The other is that Snow doctored the cards and changed the twist to make it worse in order to make a strong point. If what Haymitch told me all those days ago on the night of the interview after my Games, Snow would do whatever he needed to do to efficiently quash any form of rebellion as quickly as possible.

Snow is evil— that much I already knew, and I suppose I wouldn't put doing something like this past him. Purposely killing teenagers is bad enough, but _children?_ It's so unthinkable, so unbelievable. But it's probably the best way for Snow to make his point. That this is _his_ country. That these are _his _rules. That we are _nothing._ That he can and will do _anything_ to keep us in line.

And for what reason? Just because there is supposedly unrest in the districts over my idea with the berries?

Peeta and I tried so hard to make everyone believe that it was just because we were in love. The Victory Tour, the interviews, the proposal… Even after Snow showed his disapproval, I thought _maybe, _just maybe we'd be in the clear.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

Dozens of little children will _die_ because Snow needs to regain control of Panem, and refresh the fact that the Districts have no power. Surely after killing 23 innocent children, Snow will have made his point. Hope will be lost, and fear will replace it.

And it's all my fault.

I _have _to do something.

With a sudden burst of energy and determination, I quickly shut off the shower, and get dressed.

Haymitch and Peeta will know what to do. They always do.

I throw on my jacket and boots and rush down the stairs, walking straight to the front door.

"Katniss!" Prim and my mother call after me.

"I'm going to see Peeta and Haymitch." I say as strongly as I can manage, as I get to the door.

"Katniss, wait." My mom says.

"No, I need to go."

"Katniss, I'm already here." I hear Peeta's voice call out.

I let go of the doorknob. "Oh."

"Who do you think carried you upstairs? I came here as soon as I could." He says, walking closer and pulling me into a hug. I tense up at the contact, but then relax. This is Peeta. No matter what happened between us, as much of a question mark he is, Peeta means safety.

"It's all my fault." I whisper into his shoulder, my voice catching at the last word. "The Quell—it's because of—"

"Shh. No it isn't. It's no one's fault but Snow's." He pats my back in circles, and at that I immediately burst into sobs.

"B-but the berries. If I—if I hadn't done it… If I'd just died…"

Peeta pulls back and holds me by my shoulders. "Katniss. This. Was. Not. Your. Fault. Okay? It's all because of_ Snow_ and no one else. I know this whole situation is absolutely terrible, but blaming yourself is _not _the way to deal with it."

I quickly swipe at the tears on my face. "Okay. But… But, we have to do _something_."

Peeta nods solemnly. "I don't think we can do much. But let's go talk to Haymitch."

"Okay." I agree, feeling slightly better.

We both head out into the now darkening evening, and run into none other than Gale.

"Katniss. Mellark." He says gruffly.

"Gale?" I say. "I thought my mom sent you home."

"She did." He replies. "I waited here. I need to talk to you."

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**A/N:**** Sorry for the cliffhanger!**

**And sorry these chapters are so short, but I'm done school now and I'll hopefully have more time to write. I tried to mirror Katniss's reactions in CF as much as I could, but obviously they're a little different because the Quell's twist is different? Hopefully she's still in character.**

**To all those who reviewed: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU :) It means so much, honestly.**

**Let's try to get this story more reviews so I feel more motivated to write? Please?**

**Thanks for reading and have a nice day :3**

**-WriteOrLeft**


	4. Here's What I Think We Should Do

**A/N:**** Hello readers! Sorry for how late this is…. It's been what, like two months? I'm afraid I can't promise much in the way of regular updates, sorry!**

**Anyhoo here is chapter 3, technically chapter 4 but the first chapter was a preface.**

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**Disclaimer: **** I own nothing from The Hunger Games series, all credit is due to Suzanne Collins.**

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**Katniss**

"But…" I say, squirming. "We were just going to speak to Haymitch, it's important. Can't this wait?"

"If you going there to talk about the Quell, I'd like to come too." Gale says seriously.

"What?" Peeta and I say at the same time.

"W-why?" I ask.

Gale taps his foot impatiently. "Because I have some ideas on how we need to deal with it, and yes, I'm aware that i'm not exactly chummy with Haymitch, but-"

"What do you mean how we need to deal with it?" asks Peeta. "It has nothing to do with you, Gale."

He exhales sharply, and I can tell he's trying to keep his cool. "Because, Mellark, it'll definitely have something to do with the Districts' kids. They're taking kids. We can't do anything about that, but maybe we can-"

Suddenly, Haymitch's front door slams open and he comes stumbling out. He must have heard us arguing.

"Kid has a point." He says, his voice just on the verge of slurring. "Get in here."

We all look at each other and I shrug, making my way towards Haymitch's house. Peeta and Gale follow close behind.

Inside Haymitch's house, after navigating around the trash and empty bottles strewn haphazardly in every direction, we all take a seat at the kitchen table.

"Well?" says Peeta impatiently. "What's your great idea?" I can tell he is somewhat irked at Gale's presence, but is also somewhat curious. So am I… I want to hear what Gale has to say.

Gale drums his fingers on the table. "Okay… So we can all obviously see how much has changed since you guys got back, right? The new Peacekeepers, the stricter rules, the gallows and whipping post…" He winces at the last word. "It can't be random, right?"

I nod grimly. "They're punishing me for the berries."

"Right." Gale says. "So now this new Quarter Quell… I I mean, it might have been planned all those years ago, but it just seems to perfect, too evil… I wouldn't put it past Snow to have changed the card."

"Oh, he definitely did." adds Haymitch. "No doubt in my mind. Go on, Hawthorne."

"Well," Gale says, scratching his head, "I'm not sure why exactly he chose to send younger kids in out of all the other twists he could have thrown in-"

"It's obvious though, isn't it?" Peeta interrupts. "The berry thing was seen as rebellious. He's worried that other people will act similarly. The Victory Tour proved that that's true… People are angry. So Snow needs to get people to see that we were wrong, so that the Districts will calm down again. What better way to ruin our images than to make us mentor Panem's youngest kids and endorse their Games?"

"Everyone will hate me...All those kids are going to die and it's all my fault." I mumble.

"No they won't." Peeta says.

"Shut up Peeta!" I slap my hand on the table, suddenly angry, and stand up. "You can't make everything better by saying things like that! People will blame me because it is my fault. It was my idea to use those stupid berries! If I had just died back in that arena then all of these kids would still be safe!"

"But Katniss-" Gale says.

"No! You too!" I yell between tears. "Shut up because nothing you say-"

"KATNISS!" Haymitch roars. We all turn to look at him.

"Calm. Down. Would you stop feeling sorry for yourself for just 30 seconds, sweetheart? Yes, you're right. It is your fault for making Snow all ticked off about the stunt you pulled with the berries. But that's not the point. The point is you're alive, Katniss. And maybe that's for a reason. But no, it is not your fault that Snow is putting the little kids in. That's only his fault and no one else's understood?"

"But if only I hadn't made him angry-"

"No, Katniss, don't you get it?" says Gale. "Snow is angry because you gave people hope. You gave them a chance to try and fight back against him. If it didn't happen now, it would have happened eventually… Things are getting too bad in the districts. People have been angry for a very long time, but they never had any reason to fight back because no one ever thought they could. You showed them that we can make a difference. That we don't have to starve and live under Snow's wrath anymore."

"You're right, Gale." adds Peeta. "Katniss, it all would have fallen apart sometime. All you've done is given people a glimmer of hope. You've given them a voice."

I sigh, frustrated because I know that in a way, they're all right. But I'm not about to give them the satisfaction of knowing that.

"Well none of that matters now, does it? The point is I made Snow angry, and now he's taking it out on children in order to prove how powerful he is. Now he's going to make me mentor these kids and he's probably also going to make me give interviews and speeches about the Quell and everyone will think I agree with him and then everyone will hate me and go back to realizing that there isn't any point in trying to fight and then we're right back where we started, right?"

"Actually, no." Haymitch and Gale both say at the same time.

"There is a way we can fix this." says Haymitch.

"Or at least try." adds Gale.

Peeta gestures between Gale and Haymitch. "You two have been working on a plan?"

"Nope." says Haymitch. "But if he's as smart as I think he is, I have a feeling I know what he came here to tell us. Go ahead, kid."

Gale scratches his head. "Well, it's very risky, and might get complicated. And if we get caught, we're basically all dead. But it just might work."

He leans forward. "Here's what I think we should do."

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**A/N:**** Sorry it's so short! I have literally no motivation to write anymore :( reviews might help though! Let me know how you guys like the story… Anything you guys want me to add? **

**Any guesses about what Gale's big plan is?**

**Let me know!**

**Thanks for reading guys, it means the world.**

**-WriteOrLeft :)**


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